Fall is fully deployed above 10,000 feet

We got a running start on this hike.

In the parking lot, we ran after first my husband’s hat, then mine, then our parking pass, as a fierce, cold wind tore them away.

I wondered if we should just walk up the forest road behind us, if it would be more sheltered from the wind.

But the blue sky and golden leaves beckoned, and the scent of spruce enticed us. We crossed the highway to the Ellis Trail.

We were last here, briefly, three months ago, when it was 25 degrees hotter.

The rocky old jeep road wound over steep hills at 10,000 feet elevation. Crisp fall sun spilled through aspens and evergreens, ridges stretched away green and yellow. The rock underfoot went from limestone shelves to travertine crumbles and back again.

Sometimes the trees dropped away to reveal the San Pedro Mountains, the Ortiz, the Sangre de Cristos, even the Jemez, looking like it was right in front of us. The air was the clearest I’d ever seen it on the crest after two storms this week cleared out some dust.

The day changed constantly, moving as we did. In the sun, even below 60 degrees with a brisk wind, sweat came quickly. In shade, I gave thanks for my hoodie. Lemon-yellow butterflies danced along the trail, not yet ready to accept the season’s change.

Fall in New Mexico sharpens all the colors to a blade. The sky deepens to a seemingly impossible blue, bringing out the blue cast in the spruce needles. Aspen leaves pulse golden.

The air is clean and clear, perfect against your skin. The sun’s rays, so brutal I avoid hiking in direct sun for half the year, slant and soften. They become something to seek, not hide from.

Ellis Trail in October is an exquisite place to seek them.

Hike length: 7 miles

Difficulty: moderate

Trail traffic: light to moderate

Wildlife spotted: towhee, kingbird, hawk, vulture, caterpillars, butterflies; three mule deer on a ridge on the Sandia Crest Highway